Drive east on Mill Plain toward MacArthur this fall and the first change shows up at the corner. The free right-turn slip lane from Mill Plain onto MacArthur is on the City of Vancouver's list of closures to expect once construction starts, and it will be replaced with a new right-turn lane. Plenty of people in central Vancouver have used that slip lane for years without noticing it. Its removal is the first physical sign of the Heights District, the city's long-planned redevelopment of the former Tower Mall site. The first thing the city is building there is an intersection.
The City of Vancouver is building streets, parks and safety improvements first, and developers are expected to build the housing and retail blocks later, "over time and in phases." Under the city's current schedule, if you live near Mill Plain, MacArthur or Andresen, the next few years of the Heights will mostly mean road work, with buildings coming later.
The first project is the corner itself
The city calls the East Mill Plain Boulevard and MacArthur Boulevard intersection upgrade the first public investment of the Heights District redevelopment. Construction began in June 2026. The project realigns the intersection and adds a greenbelt path along MacArthur for bikes and pedestrians. Most of the work happens underground or at street level, including stormwater conveyance and treatment, a new water main and sewer main, asphalt and concrete paving, new signals, streetlighting and irrigated landscaping.
When the project is done, the corner will have more trees than it started with. The Public Works project page says 37 trees are being removed and 72 new ones planted, close to two new trees for each one taken out. According to The Columbian's coverage of the May groundbreaking, the greenbelt path will have street trees, stormwater bioswales, better lighting, and protected two-way lanes for bicyclists and pedestrians.
The city describes the project as "one of the primary gateways to the future Heights District," and that explains why it comes first. The redevelopment opens onto Mill Plain at this corner, and the city is rebuilding it before anything goes up behind it.
The order of operations, as the city has published it
The city's pages give a clear sequence. Each item below comes from the City of Vancouver's Heights District page unless otherwise noted.
| Phase | What it is | Projected timing |
|---|---|---|
| Mill Plain–MacArthur intersection and greenbelt | Realigned intersection, MacArthur greenbelt, utilities | Started June 2026; finish estimated between late spring and summer 2027 |
| The loop road | A new road around the former Tower Mall area | Spring 2027 to early summer 2029 |
| Sites C and P, Mill Plain at Devine Road | 231 affordable rental homes in three 4-story buildings, with commercial space and a market hall | Construction 2028, completion 2030 |
| Blocks M and O, former Vanco Driving Range | 70 townhomes to own at affordable sale prices, by Pahlisch Commercial | Construction anticipated in 2028 |
| Civic Plaza and Neighborhood Park | Public spaces shown on the adopted site plan | Planned; no construction date published |
Two details in that table come with caveats. The intersection's finish date appears three different ways on city pages. The Public Works page says late spring 2027, the main Heights page says June 2027, and the construction-updates page says summer 2027, "weather and construction conditions permitting." All three fall within a few months of each other, so the safest planning assumption is the first half of 2027 or a little later.
The loop road is the second caveat. The same city page calls it the "Grand Loop" in one paragraph, with a projected start in the first quarter of 2027, and the "Grant Loop" in another, with a start in spring 2027 and completion in early summer 2029. Whichever spelling sticks, road work on the site is projected to continue into 2029.
The order matters for neighbors. The intersection work and the loop road are scheduled to overlap, and housing on Sites C/P and Blocks M/O is projected to start in 2028, while the loop road is still under construction. If the city's dates hold, some public road project will be active around the site from mid-2026 through early summer 2029.
What changes on the drive this fall and winter
The Public Works page lists the closures to watch for:
- The right-turn slip lane from Mill Plain Boulevard onto MacArthur Boulevard will close and be replaced with a new right-turn lane.
- Southbound MacArthur Boulevard between Mill Plain Boulevard and Blandford Drive will close.
- Ogden Avenue will close at Mill Plain Boulevard for up to one month.
- Westbound Blandford Drive between MacArthur Boulevard and Evergreen Boulevard will close for up to one month.
- Additional lane closures and turn-lane restrictions will occur along the way.
The city presents these as closures to watch for, not a dated calendar, and adds that "schedules may change." The page doesn't say which of them are in place on any given day. Work generally runs 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and can go as late as 8 p.m. when needed. When flaggers are directing traffic, the city says to plan for delays of up to 20 minutes.
Not all of the crews belong to the city. Clark Public Utilities, Lumen, Comcast, AT&T and Verizon are moving their own lines out of the way, and each company sets its own schedule. That relocation work was estimated to start in late June and finish in early fall 2026, with the usual caution that weather can move the dates. Any utility trucks still near the corner in mid-October are probably finishing that phase.
The city's housing figures have changed since 2025
The construction schedule isn't the only thing that has changed. In October 2025, The Columbian reported agreements for 271 homes on the first sites, with 140 units from Palindrome and 131 from Related Northwest working with the Vancouver Housing Authority, on an earlier construction timeline. The city's Heights District page, updated in September 2026, now shows 231 affordable rental units for Sites C and P, with construction projected to start in 2028 and finish in 2030.
Site B was also left out of the update. When the city first named developers in August 2024, Edlen & Co. was selected for Site B, Palindrome for Site C, and Related Northwest with the Vancouver Housing Authority for Site P. The current project page covers Sites C, P, M and O and doesn't give a status for Site B. For now, the 231 units, the 70 Pahlisch Commercial townhomes and the 2028 start are the figures the city has on record.
The city's plan also includes a market hall with a taproom and a food hub for local small businesses in the Sites C and P buildings. No tenants have been named. Based on the 2030 completion projection, any restaurants or shops coming to the Heights are still years away.
The part of the site already open
While the roads are being built, the city has put one part of the former mall property to public use. The Heights Bike Garden at 5411 E. Mill Plain Boulevard is Vancouver's first bike garden. It's a miniature streetscape where people of all ages can practice riding and walking safely without cars around. It's open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day. There's limited free parking off Blandford Drive, and the page says C-TRAN's The Vine Red Line stop at Devine Road provides direct access.
A few practical notes from the city's Bike Garden page apply as the weather turns. Helmets are required for every rider. Restrooms aren't available on site in winter, and the city points out that restrooms at neighboring businesses are for customers. The garden sits on a former parking lot, so shade and seating are limited.
Bus service on this stretch was in place before the Heights construction started. C-TRAN says The Vine on Mill Plain, its second bus rapid transit line, opened in 2023, and it is planning a new westbound station at Mill Plain and Chkalov, with construction expected in 2027. If that schedule holds, the corridor will see the intersection finish, the loop road begin and a new Vine station go in during the same year.
The everyday stops on this part of Mill Plain are all open and outside the new district. Safeway at 6701 E Mill Plain Blvd has a bakery, deli, Starbucks café and pharmacy. Farther east, Nostra Tavola at 8070 E Mill Plain Blvd takes table reservations and online orders. Park Hill Cemetery at 5915 E Mill Plain Blvd welcomes visitors and asks them to be respectful of people paying respects. The adopted Heights site plan arranges the district's buildings around a future Civic Plaza and Neighborhood Park, with Park Hill Cemetery along the district's eastern edge.
The next milestones on the city's pages both land in 2027. The loop road is projected to start in spring 2027, and the intersection is estimated to be finished between late spring and summer of that year.
If you own a home near Mill Plain and MacArthur and are wondering how a road-first redevelopment schedule might affect what buyers see in your area, Louise is glad to talk it through with you. Louise James follows the Heights District timeline closely, and a free home valuation is an easy place to start that conversation.
